Councilors of the City Council of Sitges, Mayor Jordi Serra, Mayor Pere Junyent, Representatives of entities and political groups, residents of Sitges, Beloved and dear compatriots.
October 15, 2017. Just as the past year we are gathered before the monument to the memory of President Lluis Companys, the Martyr President.
Today we remember and honor the memory of Lluís Companys i Jover, President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, captured by the Gestapo and handed over to the Spanish fascist authorities and executed by a firing squad of the Spanish army on October 15, 1940 .Let us not forget that Lluís Companys was the only democratically elected president executed during the Second World War. Pablo Casado, a person that holds an important position at Partido Popular made parallels with such crimes, and he threatened to repeat them. Absolutely miserable.
Companys was the militant President of ERC, but it was, above all, the president of all the Catalans. He was admired by many citizens, no matter their political opinion. I see many similarities with the admiration felt by many people for the President of Generalitat of Catalonia, for the Vice President Oriol Junqueras and the Catalan government at large. Precisely because they are and will be the presidents of all Catalans, today we are happy to share this event with people from different political parties and representatives from different associations present in our city. What unite us is greater than what divides us. Because we all share the essential values of democracy.
These values were already shared during the difficult times of the Second Republic, Civil War and Francoism. I thank the family Tubau i Llorià for having access to the original letters that President Lluís Companys directed to Enric Tubau i Perelló (grandfather of our Rosa Tubau, Culture Councilor, here present) and father of Josep Maria Tubau i Gallinat (also present), in the difficult times of exile and repression. I would like to read a brief fragment of one of the letters, that reflect the solidarity between the defenders of the Catalan nation and those that suffered reprisals after defeat.
He stated: "Friend Tubau, I just wanted to tell you how I appreciate your sacrifice and remember the services provided to the Catalan cause, and do not doubt that now, that I have more possibilities, I will exert all my influence and I will exercise all the functions to be especially careful to promote any help you might need". (Lluís Companys)
Today, more than 70 years after his death, we can say that, despite the current execrable behavior of Spain towards Catalonia and all the constant humiliations, Lluís Companys would be proud of living with us what we are living now, holding hands and embracing us in peace. Today, we are not fearful anymore and we are united. We are not afraid of defeat, but we are even less afraid of victory because we are convinced that we will win .They don't even answer if we ask for dialogue. They don't even accept negotiation or arbitration. The world is witness and we will not stop.
The Martyr President suffered the brutality of fascist authorities that led him to the death squad. In 2017, many Catalans (of all ages, villages, towns and cities) suffered the repression and police brutality (because some Spanish political or police authority gave the order to act with violence ) against people who peacefully defended the right to vote or were standing at a queue to exercise their democratic right to vote. We will never cease to repeat it: in Democracy, any form of state violence is unacceptable!
We will never forget October 1. Voters being clubbed, all the violent shoveling voters, the militarization of the police forces (which should protect people) ... were placed under the orders of a political stance .The violence has been denounced by various international organizations in the field of human rights. Because, yes, very fundamental rights have been violated and human rights have been stepped up.
But, President Lluís Companys, we will never forget October 1 because, above all, it was the day that the people of Catalonia freely and democratically exercised their right to decide, their inalienable right to self-determination .It was the day that, with all the police repression and all judicial actions ordered by the public prosecutor's office, the Spanish government, the Spanish intelligence services ... a whole country, in a large network of solidarity and personal and collective commitment, exercised the right to make a referendum with everything against. This network of solidarity and commitment is called the Catalan nation.
And the Catalan nation decided. Therefore, before they snatch our sovereignty (the one granted by limited constitutional autonomy), it's time to exercise full sovereignty. It is time to fulfill, with intelligence and cleverness, with civility and peace, the will of the majority emanating from ballot boxes. Confidence, perseverance, resistance and determination.
Let me, finally, read a fragment of the words of President Lluís Companys: “I will thank God for giving me such a beautiful death defending my ideals. He wanted this destiny, and I still give him the gratitude of this placidity and serenity that fills me when thinking about death, which I see approaching fearlessly .I could not hope as a humble human being for such a dignifying end. For Catalonia and all that represents concerning peace, justice and love”.
For him and for those words, and for so many others who have preceded us, we must continue to fight peacefully with our hands, and dearly caress with our fingers the longed freedom and the struggle for a more prosperous country with more social justice .The Government of Sitges and the municipal groups engaged in the process will not deceive you, and neither the Government of Catalonia nor the Parliament!
As Companys said: “Where freedom dwells, my homeland rests”. Honor and glory to the Martyr President. Long live Catalonia!
As Companys said: “Where freedom dwells, my homeland rests”. Honor and glory to the Martyr President. Long live Catalonia!
